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We knew it was going to happen soon or later.  It turns out it was sooner, rather than later.  Android-based phones outsold the iPhone in the U.S. for the first time last quarter.

The Android phones, led by the launch of the Droid series on Verizon, accounted for 28% of smartphone sales, while the iPhone accounted for 21%.  Blackberry’s RIM OS still lead the way with 36% of the sales.

What does this mean for this year?  Well, with release after release of Droid models on Verizon, and every major carrier now having at least one Android offering, expect the Android explosion to continue.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see the gap between Android devices and RIM rapidly close this year, and maybe we’ll even see Android take over the top spot in 2011.  As far as the iPhone, well I still think that the biggest threat to the iPhone is its decision to work with only one carrier.

UPDATE: A reader passed on a link to a great article that demonstrates the rise of Android versus the decline of other mobile OS.  The following graph does a great job of illustrating this.